Senior Manager, Country Engagement - Mental Health

Job Posting Organization:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization founded in 2002, primarily in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Its mission is to save lives and reduce the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries by supporting governments and the private sector in creating and sustaining high-quality health systems. CHAI operates in over 40 countries and employs a diverse team dedicated to addressing various health challenges, including infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. The organization emphasizes the importance of local leadership and sustainable impact, ensuring that programs are designed to scale nationally and that learnings are shared globally. CHAI is committed to diversity and inclusion, recognizing that its mission is best advanced by the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Job Overview:
The Senior Manager, Country Engagement - Mental Health will play a crucial role in CHAI's Mental Health Access Initiative (MHAI), which aims to expand access to affordable, quality-assured psychotropic medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. The position involves providing strategic direction and support to a portfolio of six focus countries, ensuring that country teams deliver against their work plans and commitments to national stakeholders. The Senior Manager will work closely with Ministries of Health, regulators, and procurement agencies, and will be responsible for maintaining a program-wide view of each country's progress. This role requires a balance of strategic judgment and detailed engagement, as the Senior Manager will need to communicate effectively with both country teams and global stakeholders, ensuring that country-level priorities inform global strategy and vice versa. The successful candidate will be instrumental in transitioning the program from a proof-of-concept phase to large-scale delivery, addressing long-neglected mental health issues in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic direction and support to the program's portfolio of six focus countries, leading relationships with MHAI country teams and maintaining an overview of their progress against work plans and objectives.
• Directly support a subset of focus countries while ensuring accountability across all six.
• Ensure country teams meet their commitments to Ministries of Health and other stakeholders, identifying and resolving delivery risks early.
• Represent CHAI with senior external stakeholders, building relationships with government officials and donors.
• Travel regularly to focus countries to support workshops and government engagements.
• Provide technical support to country teams across core workstreams, mobilizing additional resources as needed.
• Serve as the primary bridge between country teams, the global team, and funders, ensuring alignment of priorities and strategies.
• Create and review major reports and donor deliverables, ensuring accurate communication of findings and lessons learned.
• Lead annual and quarterly planning cycles with country teams, overseeing progress tracking and budget management. 1
• Manage and mentor junior staff, fostering a strong team culture and supporting professional development. 1
• Capture and disseminate lessons learned across countries, adapting resources for broader use. 1
• Support proposal development for various funders, contributing to program strategy and onboarding new focus countries.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's degree in public health, public policy, business, economics, or a related field.
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience, particularly in low- and middle-income country health systems.
• Proven experience managing complex, multi-country programs, including planning, delivery tracking, and budget oversight.
• Strong track record of building trusted relationships with government officials and funders.
• Ability to influence and secure commitments without formal authority in a matrixed organization.
• Excellent strategic and analytical skills, with the ability to translate country-level details into program-level insights.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing reports and presentations for senior audiences.
• Experience supervising and developing staff, including remote teams.
• Familiarity with program budgeting and financial management in low-resource settings. 1
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple workstreams in a multicultural environment. 1
• Willingness to travel 20-40%, including to challenging logistics settings.

Educational Background:
A Master's degree in public health, public policy, business, economics, or a related field is required for this position. This educational background is essential to understand the complexities of health systems and the socio-economic factors that influence health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

Experience:
Candidates should have at least 7 years of relevant professional experience, particularly in managing complex health programs in low- and middle-income countries. Experience in multi-country or multi-stakeholder programs is crucial, as is a proven ability to build relationships with government officials and funders. The role requires a strong understanding of health systems and the ability to navigate the challenges of delivering health interventions in diverse contexts.

Languages:
Fluency in English, both written and verbal, is mandatory for this position. Proficiency in French is considered an advantage, especially given the focus on sub-Saharan Africa, where French is widely spoken in several countries.

Additional Notes:
This is a full-time position based in Accra, Ghana, with flexibility to be based in any CHAI program country subject to leadership approval and work authorization. The role involves significant travel to focus countries, estimated at 20-40%. CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to diversity and inclusion in its workforce.